Allegiant Air flight dispatchers join Teamsters

A small labor group at Allegiant Air has voted to join the airline division of the Teamsters union.

The 21 flight dispatchers at the company voted 15-5 to approve representation by Teamsters Local 986 earlier this week, joining the airline’s pilot group, which voted to join that union in August.

The pilot group includes about 350 Allegiant employees.

Dispatchers rejected a bid to join the Transport Workers Union in January 2011 in a 6-6 vote.

It’s the third employee group at Allegiant, a subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Co., to vote for union representation.

The Transport Workers Union is negotiating its first contract for flight attendants, who approved TWU representation in December 2010.

Dispatchers are certified by the Federal Aviation Administration and serve as a pilot’s eyes and ears on the ground. They plan and monitor all flights and keep crews apprised of changes in weather, navigational aids or airport conditions while a plane is in the air.

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